Pokémon: The Grand Spectacular Adventures of Arianna Foster
by Criminal Scrub
Summary: In a world following the disbandment of a major crime organization, Arianna Foster and her Pokemon must face it head on, learning how to work together as a team along the way. Threats lurk around every corner as new wannabe criminals try to take the throne of the former kings, but it won't phase Arianna. Nobody messes with her, or her new family, and gets away with it.
1. Dream of Electric Sheep

"Mother fucker!"

Enter Arianna Athelina Gwendolyn Estelle Foster, also known as Ari, Stella, Gwennie, and 'The Destroyer of Dwarves'. She is a very headstrong and independent young woman, trainer of fifty-two seconds, the person least tolerant of your shit, as well as a level eighty-three Dark Elf thief in Oblivion. She is also about to embark on a pokémon training adventure, although not the kind which involves the collecting of eight shiny yet senseless little gems.

" _Mrrr-eeep!"_

And this is Mary, the very un-cleverly named Mareep given to Arianna by her beloved boyfriend. Mary is just like Arianna; stubborn and independent, which are obviously not desirable traits in a pokémon. Before being forced into becoming a trained pokémon, this particular Mareep was a nice and carefree little one, always grazing in the fields with its friends. Post forced capture, it's now become a rather unfriendly little shit, as evidenced by the fact it just electrocuted its own trainer.

These two now-partners hate each other with a passion, don't get along at all, and wish ill fates upon the other. However, they do have one thing in common aside from iron will and a mutual hatred: They will not let _anybody_ fuck with them and get away with it. Together, they will have to face the world following the disbandment of a certain major crime organization, and learn to work as a team before it's too late.

This twisted yet comedic world is the product of lots of caffeine at four AM in the morning, mindless ramblings between two friends, and the surprising formulation of plot despite being horribly sleep deprived. Being written for the pleasure of your lovely eyes, I present to you:

 **The Grand Spectacular Adventures of Arianna Foster**

…

 **Chapter One:** Dream of Electric Sheep

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

10:33 AM

...

Arianna's eyes slowly opened, and she instinctively looked to her left, expecting to find an alarm clock. Instead she found the bottom of a dirty couch.

 _"The fuck?"_ She sat up and racked her brain, trying to remember anything that happened the night before. That's when the soreness resulting from sleeping on the floor kicked in. "Nngggguuuuuhhhhh…" She let out a long and loud grown as she stretched in an attempt to make the soreness at least somewhat bearable, and swiped away the messy, knotted copper colored hair which drooped over her face. It dropped back down a second later. "Thanks hair," _s_ he growled.

"You got any cereal?" A voice came from the kitchen. Arianna slowly turned her head, and saw a blurry figure standing behind a counter. She could barely make out the fact it was her kitchen. "Top left cabinet… We're out of milk though." Her eyes turned to slits as she tried to make out who was talking to her. For all she knew, it could be some sort of burglar. "Yeah that's fine, I eat my cereal dry anyway," The voice said back.

Arianna furiously rubbed at her eyes, and took a good look at her surroundings. She was on the floor, sleeping on top of a blanket meant for a bed. Except she was in the living room. A very messy living room. Beer bottles, chips, and three other people littered the brown hardwood floor. It took her barely functioning mind a few moments to start connecting the dots. Then it finally dawned on her.

Arianna Foster was hungover. It did a good job explaining the massive headache starting to blossom within her head. She returned her attention to the kitchen, now that she could see a distance more than two feet in front of her. Standing behind the kitchen countertop was-

"Malcolm, what are you doing in my house?" Her tone was very calm all things considered. She woke up with no memory of the night before, and casually lets a friend who somehow got into the house eat her cereal.

"I woke up in your closet." A dry response. He definitely sounded too tired to be up. Malcolm simply stared at the cereal, and popped a few of them in his mouth. "The only other person up right now is Jessica probably. She's in your room I think."

Brief flashes of memory started coming back to Arianna. Something about… Jessica, Arianna, and lots of bad choices which seemed like good choices at the time… And a firework… Something about a firework. She got up off the floor, nearly falling back down after a head rush made her head spin. The journey to Arianna's room was as perilous as it was silly looking. And it was _very_ silly looking. She had nearly tripped over all the people in her way, and nearly smashed a glass beer bottle under her foot. Essentially a much more dangerous game of 'Try not to step on the Legos.' Actually no, a good handful of people would rather step on the glass rather than the plastic bricks from hell. She finally made it to the doorway of her room, with the only battle damage being a small cut on her heel. Nothing a bandage couldn't heal.

"Yo, Jessica," Arianna called inside the room. It was dark, and she flipped on a light switch.

"Turn it off!" A voice hissed, and Arianna quickly obeyed. She walked further into the room, and poked at the human sized lump. The covers were suddenly jerked upward, revealing Jessica's disgruntled face. "What do ya need?"

"You're in my bed Jessica."

"It was the only comfortable thing left in yer house, love."

"Yet I was left sleeping on the floor?"

"Hey, ya passed out there and decided t'sleep there. Least Caleb gave ya a blanket and pillow, meanwhile all the other saps had to sleep on the hardwood floor."

Arianna blushed, now knowing it had been Caleb who had made her sleeping experience at least somewhat better. "Where is the butt-munch anyway?" A cool breeze came in from the window, sending a chill over her entire body.

"Backyard I'm guessin'. If ya go back there however, might I suggest puttin' some clothes on?" Jessica scanned Arianna up an down, giving her a clear hint of what clothes were missing. Arianna looked down to find she was only wearing a shirt and underwear. "Well that explains why I feel so cold." She trotted over to her hamper and pulled out a pair of dirty, faded looking blue jeans. _"_ _Eh, probably good for another day right?"_ She slipped them on and began another perilous journey through the hallway. Only managing to trip once, she had finally made her way on the back porch, where Caleb was waiting.

"On a scale from one to ten, how hungover are you right now?" Caleb asked while leaning on the very unstable looking porch banister. If that thing snapped, it would mean an unpleasant ten foot drop to the grassy, unkempt backyard below. His neat long dirty blonde hair blew in the wind like hair would in a shampoo commercial.

"Nineteen. Hey, how come you don't look like crap?" Arianna placed a hand on her hip.

"Well for starters, I didn't have as many beers as you did. I was a good little boy and limited myself to only two." He shrugged, and walked a few steps closer toward the irate woman who would probably bite at any second.

"I have next to no memory of yesterday. The fuck happened that I have a pounding headache today?" She rubbed her head, hoping to soothe it a bit, but it only seemed to make it worse.

"You seriously don't remember? You planned it for weeks, and have been looking forward to it all year?" Caleb tried dropping hints, but sighed when he was simply met with a blank stare. "This was your eighteenth birthday Ari!" A brightened expression came over her, and she seemed to smile. "Holy shit! How did I forget a night like that!?"

"You had _waaaaay_ to much drink last night." He gave her a supporting pat on the back. "You were so wasted you didn't even recognize me when I offered to take you to your bed. You just kept mumbling about Trent and a firework. Then you passed out on the floor, so I at least gave you a blanket to make you somewhat comfortable." He gave her a warm smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"This is why I love you." She leaned in closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You smell nice. Did you already shower? Should've invited me…" Arianna dug into his neck, giving him a few more kisses, each one slightly more passionate.

"I did shower actually, thanks for noticing. I have to go somewhere later today, and I'm actually leaving pretty soon." He pulled her away from his neck, and she looked up at him with her puppy dog eyes.

"Where are you going? It's a Sunday. Nothing interesting happens on a Sunday!" Arianna whined and gave Caleb a tight hug.

"I have to go babe. I'm heading to Goldenrod. Whitney wanted to meet Victoria, Carrie, and myself at the gym today. It's probably something important if she called us on a Sunday." He returned her hug to make her feel a bit better. "Three girls and you inside the gym? I don't like the sound of this…" Ari questioned suspiciously, and crossed her arms. That made Caleb chuckle a bit. "You know for a fact I'm the only guy in that gym! Plus, I would never do anything with them. They're fun, but crazy."

Arianna pouted. "I sometimes hate the fact you're a gym trainer, but okay then. At least cuddle with me on the couch for a bit before you go?" Caleb let out a small laugh. "Okay, but only because I love you so much."

"Hey, Ari!" Both Arianna and Caleb turned their attention to Trent who was standing below them in the backyard with his Cyndaquill out next to him. There was also something stuck into the ground. "I'm gonna set off that firework now! Use Ember!"

" _Quill!"_ A small flame shot out from the Cyndaquill's snout, lighting the fuse. Ari's eyes went wide.

"Wait, Trent! No!-"

 _Peeeeeeeeeewwwww…_

 _ **BOOM!**_

…

11:03 AM

...

"It wasn't a gunshot officer, I assure you." An annoyed look formed over Caleb as he spoke to the officer just outside of the door. Fifteen minutes later, the officer finally left, and Caleb flipped him off the second he turned his back. He walked back inside and shut the door.

"Well there goes cuddling." Arianna stated dryly, and Caleb just shot her a quick glare. "A firework!?"

"Jessica and I were probably already drunk when we bought it! Also, you didn't have to take the heat you know."

Caleb rubbed at his temples before sighing. "I'm technically responsible for you until your mom comes back from Hoenn. But I'm just gonna pretend this little fiasco didn't happen for the time being. I wanted to be cute in doing this but now I don't have any time..." He dug around in his pocket, and fished out a minimized great ball.

"You catch a new pokémon? I don't remember you having a great ball for any of your pokémon…" A smile formed over Caleb's face as she spoke. "It's not my pokémon… It's yours."

The silence that encompassed the room was almost eerie. Even Malcolm who was still munching on some cereal stopped eating.

"My… My pokémon?" Arianna was wondering whether or not Caleb was serious. "Are you for real?"

"Wow, I thought you'd be more grateful than this honestly…"

"No! I am! But just… Why? I was barely responsible enough to care for that pet Goldeen I had four years ago!"

"Yeah, then you gave her to me. She's doing well by the way, and actually evolved into a Seaking. But this is different! She was a pet. Now, you get your own training pokémon for your birthday!" Caleb seemed awfully pleased with himself as evidenced by the cheesy grin on his face.

"But why!?"

"Because I love you, okay?" He held both of her hands. "I'm a trainer, so I don't have much time to spend with you while I'm out training. If you become a trainer with me, I can spend even more time with my beautiful Butterfree!" Caleb kissed Arianna on the forehead causing her to squirm and blush.

"You're such a dork, you know that?" She couldn't help but giggle. "Is it at least a cute yet terrifying badass pokémon?"

"Maybe when it evolves! Find out for yourself!" Caleb's outstretched hand gave Arianna the minimized great ball. "Press the button then throw." He helpfully informed.

"I knew that!" Ari snapped. She didn't actually know that. She pressed the button and it maximized to the size of her palm with a _dooit_ sound. One toss to the ground and-

 _Fsheeeewwww!_

A bright flash burned the image of a small, round pokémon into the retinas of Arianna's eyes. "Ah fuck!"

"Shit- Forgot to mention, don't stare directly at it as you send it out…" Caleb scratched the back of his head, but was only met with a middle finger in his face. After the bright spots faded from Ari's vision, she got a good look at the pokémon standing before her. It was woolly, it was blue, and had black and yellow striped conical ears, as well as a similarly striped tail with an orange bulb on the tip.

" _Mar-eeep!"_

Arianna blinked. "A Mareep?"

"Yep!" Caleb had a wide grin on his face. "Isn't it cool?" Arianna continued to stare at the electric sheep, silently criticizing. Maybe if she believed hard enough, it would turn into a Charizard. When it didn't, she sighed, and placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder.

"Caleb. I love you. I really do. But I don't think a Mareep is the way to get me into the training scene…" She instantly wanted to take back her words as she saw the hurt expression appear over Caleb. "You… You don't like it?"

Now Ari felt like a total asshole. She bit the bottom of her lip, and looked down at the ball of wool, then back at Caleb, who was giving her the kicked Growlithe look. "I'm kidding obviously! I love it!" She feigned an excited tone, and after eighteen years of practice, she was pretty damn good at it. Luckily for her, it worked. "Really? I knew you would!" He cheered and pulled her into a hug. "Gonna give it a name?"

Arianna thought for a moment. Only one, singular moment. "Uh, Mary! I'll name her Mary!" She had chosen the most un-creative name for a Mareep imaginable. Caleb cocked his head. "Really? I mean- It's great! Fitting... Anyway, I need to head out now. I'll see you tomorrow maybe?"

"You better come see me tomorrow, or I'll hunt you down myself." She pulled him in by the shirt collar for a kiss. "Love you!"

Caleb smiled and started to open the door. "Why don't you just come meet me in Goldenrod tomorrow? It'll me easier for me."

"Hm, alright then. I'll see if I can. Just for you babe!"

He laughed. "I'll see you then. Love you! Make sure to get along with your pokémon!

"Got it." Ari blatantly ignored. The door was shut, and she was left alone with the Mareep. "Hey you." She bent down in an attempt to pet it.

" _Reeeep!"_

 _Bzzzt!_

"Gah! Mother fucker!"

And that was how Arianna's first day as a pokémon trainer began.

…

11:39 AM

…

The rest of the day followed with Arianna having to figure out how to return a pokémon into a pokéball, and fighting a Mareep to get inside said pokéball.

"Get in here you little shit!"

" _Mreeep!"_

It shot electric sparks from its body, and Ari just barley managed to dodge them. It instead hit the picture of Castelia City hanging over the couch, leaving it a bit singed. "That's my favorite painting!" She lunged toward Mary, arms in front of her to grab it, but it gracefully jumped out of the way, leaving Ari to crash to the floor.

"You want some help with that?" Malcolm offered. He had simply been observing as the events unfolded before deciding to be of use to Ari.

"Yes please! This sheep from hell can't take the two of us!" Both Arianna and Malcolm stood on either side of the Mareep, making the living room look like some sort of western cowboy draw. Mary looked back and forth between the two of them, waiting for their next move. The three of them waited in silence until it was broken by-

"Now!"

The two humans lunged toward the Mareep, and despite its best efforts to dodge, was yanked backed to the ground as soon as it jumped.

"Gotcha you fucker!" Arianna stood triumphantly (well more like kneeled) over the Mareep. The two of them were holding Mary down by its electrified wool coat, causing both of their hairs to stand on end.

"Quick, Ari! The pokéball, before-" Malcolm was abruptly cut off by the electric sparks now flying all over the room.

" _Reeeeeeeep!"_

"Shitfuckshitfuckshitfuck!" Were the only words Arianna could utter while being electrocuted by a Discharge attack.

"Ughhh…" Malcolm passed out on the ground, hitting the floor hard.

" _Ree-eeep!"_ It trotted away into a different room, bouncing over all the obstacles on the floor. There was only one other person still passed out, the others had either gone home or were helping clean up.

"Oh no you don't!" Ari jumped up and chased the pokémon to the hallway where it ran into one of the rooms. _"_ _Dammit, where'd you go?"_ She thought to herself.

"Aren't you the cutest little thing?" A voice came from Ari's room. _"Jessica."_ She ran into her room where Jessica was cuddling with Mary, nuzzling into its wool.

"Jessica, you are currently cuddling with a pokémon who probably managed to claw its way up from hell. I suggest-"

"Stella, is this yer pokémon? I didn't know ya had one!" She scratched behind its ears, seeming to pleasure it a bit.

" _Mareeeep!"_ It cuddled closer to Jessica.

"Caleb just gave her to me," Arianna pulled out the great ball. "I hope he kept the receipt." She pressed a small button on the back of the ball and a beam of red light shot out at Mary, successfully returning it.

"Aw, why'd ya do that? I was busy fawnin'!" Jessica pouted.

"That thing is not as cute as you think it to be, trust me. Caleb gave it to me for my birthday, and I think I can safely say it's one of his worst gifts. Right next to the time he gave me the 'special shampoo'."

"That was a disaster." Jessica agreed. "You need any help cleaning up the place?"

"I could use the extra pair of hands," Ari shrugged. "We also need to shoo everyone else out of here."

"I got ya covered in that front, don't worry love." Jessica gave Ari a wink.

After sweeping the floor for all beer bottles, chips, and people, you could almost convince yourself it didn't look like a tornado struck the inside of the house. Everyone, including Malcolm and Jessica, left the house, making it seem emptier than ever. With nothing to do, Arianna was mind numbingly bored. She pulled out her phone and looked up standard procedure for new trainers.

 _"Talk to the nearest licensed pokémon professor…"_ She scanned the WikiHow article on the basic gist of becoming a trainer. _"_ _Obtain a pokédex to become an officially licensed trainer… Okay, now I should probably find out who the nearest professor is, shouldn't I?"  
_

After some more searching on the Internet, Arianna found out the nearest pokémon Lab was just in the next town. _"Professor Elm's pokémon Lab, located in New Bark Town. Eh, fuck it, I have nothing better to do today."_ She made her decision to leave Cherrygrove City and take the bus to New Bark Town to receive an official trainers license. She figured it would make Caleb happy.

...

1:44 PM

…

"Sign this paper over here." The red headed boy slid a paper over the desk towards Arianna.

"Sign this then I'm done?" She arched her eyebrow. It seemed almost too simple.

"Well no. You sign, register a pokédex, then we take your picture…"

Damn! She knew it had to involve more than just a simple signing.

"Also, write your full name on this line right here." He pointed to the space of three lines at the top of the paper.

"My _full_ name? Can't I just-" Arianna tried to protest.

"Full name, like I said." He bluntly replied. She figured there was no use trying to fight it, so she took the pen the boy handed him, and wrote her signature just below the fine print, as well her full name at the top. "Perfect." The head of red hair disappeared below the desk, and there was a very prominent _thud_ sound.

"Gah, son of a…" The boy muttered under his breath, and Ari had to stifle a laugh. He poked back up, rubbing the back of his head, and glared at Arianna. He probably heard the laugh anyway. "Yo Elm! Where are all the pokédex?" He turned around in his swivel chair, and faced the back of the room.

"Give me a moment!" Another voice called back. "Just let the old man deal with this, alright?" The boy got up from his chair and walked into a room towards the left of the lab. _"Okay then?"_ Arianna was just left to be confused. She swung her feet back and forth as she waited, continuously scuffing her shoes on the ground. She leaned back in the chair so far she was facing the ceiling, and let out a long groan of boredom. Patience wasn't very well suited for her. "It would be great if I could become a trainer in the next five years you know!"

No voice called back to defend itself. However, just before Arianna could consider getting up and leaving, a man in a lab coat with short acorn colored hair entered the room with a folder in one hand, and something shiny and red in the other.

"You're the new trainer right? Sorry for the wait, I'm a bit short staffed today…" The man gave a sheepish grin and sat down across from Arianna. "First, we need to get all the complicated stuff out of the way first. I trust Silver already made you sign the registration paper?"

"That's his name? Seems almost too gay to be true." Arianna remarked. The smile on the mans face decreased a little.

"It says so on my birth certificate." The red haired boy had re-entered the room, and handed the man a few more papers, while keeping one in his hand. "But I suppose you shouldn't be talking," He looked down at the paper he was holding. "Arianna Athelina Gwendolyn Estelle-"

"Okay! I have a long name, so what?" Ari snatched the piece of paper from his hands, and a sly grin appeared on the boy's face.

"Okay you two, just settle down. We don't need a fight on our hands." The man said calmly. "So, you're Arianna?" He took the paper gently from her hands.

"That's me."

"Good. My name is professor Elm. Now that I know you signed the registration paper, we can start with your pokédex." He held out the shiny red object out at Arianna, and she took it, wondering what it was. Without thinking, she pressed a button and the top part of the pokédex flipped upwards, revealing a screen below.

"Woah, this some kind of phone?" Arianna questioned. She examined the piece of technology carefully.

"Almost like one actually! This device registers the information of any pokémon you may encounter. However, it also has a map, as well as a direct messaging system! I designed this version myself!" professor Elm proudly beamed. Ari couldn't deny, she was somewhat impressed. Only somewhat though.

"Cool. Am I a trainer yet?" She began to grow even more impatient.

"Eager one are we? Okay, I'll fill out most of the formalities now, you just focus on registering your pokédex, okay? Silver here will keep you company." A surprised look came over Silver, and Arianna could just barely here him murmur- "Wait, what? Why?" Followed by a sigh from him.

"Guess you're stuck with me." Arianna remarked. She turned her attention back to the pokédex which was asking her some basic questions an online survey would ask of her. Then it came to a screen which read _'STARTER INPUT'_. Before Ari could even ask, Silver, who was sitting down next to Ari, spoke up.

"Considering you didn't fill in the lab starter box earlier, I assume you already have a pokémon, right?" He asked Ari. She hesitated before doing so, but eventually pulled out the Great Ball containing Mary from her pocket. "This little shit is my starter. A Mareep."

"Great. Keep it minimized and insert it into this groove in the back of the pokédex." Ari felt the groove he was talking about and inserted the pokéball. The screen changed from _'STARTER INPUT'_ to _'pokémon REGISTERED'._ She popped the Great Ball back out, and stuffed it back in her pocket.

"Now you have all the information on your pokémon. You can even name it if you haven't already." Arianna took that advice and input the Mareep's name as Mary. "If you'll come with me, we can take your picture for your trainer ID."

"I have to get an ID too? Can't I just take the pokédex and leave?"

"I know, it's a lot of formality, but it's better to register now. I actually didn't register to become an official trainer until three years after my training started." Silver led her into the room on the right of the lab. The room was small, and in it was a computer and a camera. "Stand against that wall and say cheese."

"Right here?" Arianna stood in front of the camera and struck a pose. "Yep, right there. Say cheese."

"Cheese!"

 _Click!_

Arianna was briefly blinded by the flash of the camera, and blinked a few times to make her vision return to normal. "Am I done yet?"

"I swear if you ask that one more time, I'm gonna replace your trainer ID picture with a picture of Danny DeVito." Silver glared at her from over the computer screen, and she simply threw her hands up in surrender. They were just left in awkward silence as Silver worked on her ID. She was just leaning against the wall, making clicking noises with her tongue. It seemed to grate on Silver though, so she stopped so her picture wasn't replaced by that of Danny DeVito.

"How was it like when you began training?" Arianna asked in order to break the silence. She hated silence more than anything.

"I stole my Totodile from Professor Elm." He stated bluntly. It surprised Ari, and she was a bit taken aback.

"You stole your pokémon? Why?"

"I… I'm really not sure looking back at it today. I was in a rough spot during those few years. Not in the best of emotional states. If I had just simply asked Elm for the pokémon, it sure would have helped me avoid any trouble with the police down the road." He seemed to be recalling the events as he had stopped typing on the keyboard.

"Rough spot, huh?" Ariana was actually kind of interested. "I know how you feel there."

"I don't think you do. The situation I was in could only be applied to me, and me alone."

"Oh come on, I don't think-"

"My dad was the leader of Team Rocket. I win."

Normally, Arianna wouldn't believe such a thing. Claiming your dad was the leader of one of the largest mob organizations was a pretty big statement. However, the fact his tone had remained the same and completely serious, Arianna just didn't bother to question him further. This time, she didn't bother to break the silence.

"There, your ID should be printing in the other room now. You can leave soon after you pick it up." Silver motioned towards the door, and she got up and left the room. Elm was waiting for her outside.

"You've been registered in the system, and your trainer card just finished printing. You should be all set to leave now." He handed her a yellow colored card with all the information she had filled out. "Do you have any questions before you leave?"

"Not that I can think of at the moment. I'm just ready to get the hell out of here and into Goldenrod City."

"I shouldn't keep you then. If you do think of any questions however, you can use the pokédex to contact either me or Silver-" Arianna made a mental note to delete those numbers. "-And you can register the number of anybody else with a pokédex if need be."

"Good to know. I'll just be heading out now." She started her way towards the door, but was stopped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. "You'll need these too." Said Silver's voice. Ari turned around, and six minimized pokéball's were handed to her. "Oh, thanks." She put the pokéball's in her purse as well. "Here's a little bit of personal advice that I give to most trainers: If you encounter any weird _shit_ on your journey, it's better to not question it and just accept it."

Arianna looked at him like he had grown three heads. "I have absolutely no idea what the fuck you mean by that dude."

Silver laughed. "That's okay. Most people don't." He turned around, started walking off, and waved.

"Good luck on your training adventures!" Professor Elm said, and gave Arianna a thumbs up. "See ya." She walked off and started her way towards the bus station once more.

…

7:52 PM

…

The sun was setting, and the sky was getting darker. Luckily for Arianna, she liked Goldenrod better at night. She thought it looked really pretty. The pink lights coming from the gym illuminated the street in front of Arianna.

 _"Seriously, Whitney added pink lights too? I swear that girl is too girly…"_

Arianna stepped inside the gym, nearly getting blinded by how many bright lights and pink surfaces there were. "Whitney! You in here?" Her voice echoed throughout the entire gym.

"Gwennie? Is that you?" Another female voice echoes back. Ari sighed. She hated when Whitney called her that. Behind the pink maze wall emerged a pink haired girl with just as pink eyes. Another headache already started to form on Arianna. Just as her previous one started to go away too. Whitney walked up to her with a cheerful smile on her face. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" She asked in a very perky manner.

"Yeah, the last time we saw each other was like… six months ago? At Jasmine's birthday barbecue I'm pretty sure." Arianna had to act at least somewhat friendly with the gym leaders she's met, even if she couldn't stand their presence. Bad blood with one of them could potentially affect Caleb's dream of one day becoming one.

"Oh right! I remember that! Haha, remember when you nearly choked on that grape? Your face was priceless!" Whitney laughed to herself.

 _"Thanks for reminding me of the time I nearly died."_ "Where's Caleb?" Ari changed the subject before she was ready to punch a pink haired bitch.

"Ooh, you just missed him! He went to the café a few blocks down with Carrie and Vic. They had arranged some kind of meeting after I was done with them." Whitney walked circles around Arianna as she spoke. "They should still be there."

"Thanks Whitney." Ari turned on her heel, and marched toward the glass doors.

"Oh, by the way, I also wanted to say-"

Arianna tuned out whatever it was Whitney said to avoid a bigger headache. Cars quickly sped past her as she walked down the sidewalk, and the café started coming into view.

'Café le Wow' is what the words on the chalkboard sign read. There was even a little doodle of croissant and tea. She pushed past the wooden door, and was greeted to the smell of biscuits and coffee. On the far end of the café there was a table where the three musketeers sat. Caleb spotted Ari, and his face went from focused to happy.

"Jesus Ari, what did you do? Take the Pidgeot Express?" Caleb managed to trap her in a hug, and all Ari could do was squirm. She managed to break free and took a few steps back. "Actually I left New Bark Town this afternoon. Had one hell of a nap during the bus ride."

A confused look came over Caleb. "What were you doing in-"

Ari pulled out the pokédex from her purse. "I became an officially licensed trainer for you."

"Aw, you did that for me? Well, I was gonna take you to do that anyway, so you saved me some trouble actually."

"Ari's a trainer now?" Asked Carrie from behind. "Did you give her a starter too?"

"A Mareep actually! How is it by the way? You two get along after I left?"

Arianna rolled her eyes back and let out a scoff. "The pokémon you gave me is a piece of shit. It shocked me on multiple occasions, refused to get inside its pokéball, and even singed my Castelia City painting!" She listed off the crimes on her fingers. Caleb's happy expression got a little saddened. "R-Really? I thought…" He trailed off, but his chipper mood came back quickly. "You two just need to spend more time together! You'll become best buds in no time! I promise!" He sounded almost panicky. Ari decided it was probably best to change the subject.

"Well, what's this meeting here about? Something to do with why Whitney called you today?" A sly grin came over Caleb.

"What if I told you I was becoming a gym leader?"

…

 **Next Chapter:** Now that she's an officially licensed trainer, what will be the first thing Arianna does? Will her and Mary ever see eye to eye, or will she be too much for Ari to handle? Perhaps a new pokémon could help build a bridge between the two…

…


	2. Recurring Nightmare

Friday, August 7th, 2004

3:43 AM

…

" _What do you think my second pokémon should be?"_ Caleb's static-y voice asked over the phone. Arianna was playing Morrowind while only half listening to what he was saying.

"God! Stupid-ugh. Second pokémon? Uh, I dunno, a Tauros?" Ari slammed her head on the table in frustration.

" _If you had been paying attention to this conversation at all, you would know I already ruled out Tauros… For now at least."_ Ari picked up her phone and moved to the bed where she laid down to keep herself from snapping her keyboard in half. "Sorry, Trinity was keeping me busy."

" _Who's Trinity?"_

"That's the name of my new gaming rig. First computer I've built, so why not name it something cool?"

" _Any particular reason why you chose Trinity?"_

"Because," Ari was prepared to give Caleb a lecture in case he ever asked about her mad naming skills. "I want my computer to be a three step process. I start out with something fairly decent build-Trinity-then I slowly upgrade her parts until she evolves into a brand new system-which I plan to name Morpheus by the way-and finally I accumulate the best parts around to make my computer the best it can possibly be-as you probably guessed is named Neo, due to the fact it fits in with the whole Matrix theme, as well as it being 'The One' system I use to play games." Arianna seemed awfully proud of herself for coming up with the elaborate process of her computer. All that could be heard from Caleb's end was static.

"Caleb?" Ari asked the silent phone.

" _I'm here,"_ he responded. _"I'm just surprised you managed to come up with all of that on your own."_

"My mind only works at full function for important things," she remarked, making a pointing gesture with her finger. As if he would see it.

" _Yet you barely scrape by in school-"_

"Okay! New subject! Or rather, returning subject!" Arianna quickly interrupted. She didn't feel like telling Caleb her failing grades of math, science, _and_ english. "You said you wanted a new pokémon, right? Any particular type in mind?"

A static noise which Arianna could only guess was Caleb thinking came over the speaker phone. _"Electric type. Good coverage for my Horsea. I'm thinking an Elekid could be good."_ Arianna joined him in the thinking process, before finally snapping her fingers.

"Mareep! You have a soft spot for cute pokémon, right? Plus, aren't they like, super friendly with trainers?"

…

 **Chapter Two:** Recurring Nightmare

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

8:11 PM

…

"You're shitting me. He's shitting me right?" Arianna peered over to both Carrie and Victoria as she asked this. They both shook their heads, and Ari turned her attention back to Caleb. "You're becoming a gym leader!?"

Caleb chuckled. "Well, I might. Whitney's been talking an awful lot about going back on a journey, which she can't do if she runs a gym. So she called who she thought were the three best candidates to take her place, rounded us up at the gym, and gave us the briefing on what will essentially be a contest to see who is the most worthy gym trainer."

"You made it sound like it was set in stone. But babe! That's great!" Arianna attacked Caleb with a kiss, but pulled away after hearing someone clear their throat to get her attention once more.

"He still has more to say you know," Victoria scowled. Arianna stuck her tongue out at her, and Vic just rolled her eyes.

"There's just one thing…" Caleb started. Arianna suddenly became worried, because whenever he started a sentence that way, it was never good news. "What is it?" She hastily asked.

"Well, the three of us are going to Hearthome City… Whitney said our first challenge would be there." Caleb looked down at the ground while rubbing his neck. He felt really bad just saying it, and a sinking feeling formed in Arianna's chest. Hearthome City was in the center of Sinnoh if she recalled correctly.

"You're going to Sinnoh? Why did Whitney…" Caleb shrugged before she even finished her statement. "You know Whitney. She has to go over the top with everything. She's planning what she calls a gym tour, in which the three of us go to various locations in different regions to compete for our gym position." The sinking feeling in Arianna's chest slowly turned to anger.

"Why can't she just have, like, a tournament or something? There's no need for all that world-traveling extra shit!" She backed away from Caleb to create distance between him and the sporadic hand gestures she expressed while talking.

"Apparently you can't just choose a new gym leader. The old gym leader would need to put the new candidates through a series of tests to prove themselves. Those are the rules of the league in this region. In Kanto too." Caleb had basically burned the official indigo league rule book into his head. He probably knew more about the league than the league knew about themselves. Arianna sighed, and saw no use trying to fight it. "When do you leave?" A hint of sadness crept into her voice.

"Four days. Apparently she bought plane tickets and everything before even consulting us in the matter. It also lasts three months."

Arianna seriously felt like going to the gym right now and giving Whitney hell. "Hey, at least you get to go to cool places!" She did a good job at masking her anger, and her urge to go punch Whitney in the face. "Get me a souvenir, or send a postcard, got it?"

"I'll send you some food if it'll make you feel better. I heard Hearthome has a world famous bakery," Caleb chuckled and Arianna couldn't help but crack a smile. He always knew how to make her feel better. "I'm gonna finish up here, then we can stay at my hotel room, okay?"

…

10:57 PM

…

Certain hotel rooms were always reserved for official members of the pokémon league, and this included gym trainers. To the benefit of Arianna, Caleb would allow her to use this room whenever she stayed in Goldenrod.

"God I love this bed. I don't know why I still live in my shitty house." Arianna was barely audible as her face was buried into the pillow. She felt the weight of Caleb sitting down next to her on the bed.

"I'm more surprised at the fact you've managed to keep that house." He remarked. Ari grabbed the corner of a pillow and smacked Caleb with it. "Oof! Hey, what was that for?" He removed the pillow from his face, and was met with the girl of his dreams a mere inch from his face. Ari quickly attacked him with a kiss, leaving him helpless as he was pushed down on the bed.

"You're gonna be gone for about three months, right? Leaving in four days?" Ari placed her hands on Caleb's chest while sitting on top of him.

"Three days technically. I leave on the fourth day." A sly grin appeared on his face. "Dawn of the third day, seventy-two hours remain." Arianna couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. "You're such-haha-a fucking nerd, you know that?" She said in between laughs. "I suppose so. A trait we share between the two of us." He pushed himself up with one hand, and placed his other hand on Ari's back so he didn't accidentally push her off the bed. They simply stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, but to each other it felt like an eternity.

"I'm not gonna be seeing you in person for a few months…" Arianna ran her hands through Caleb's dirty blonde hair, pushing it backwards to reveal his entire face, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Why not have some fun before you go?" She whispered into his ear, causing a grin to form on his face.

"What are you trying to imply?" He tried to act clueless but wasn't very good at it.

"Oh shut up." Ari and Caleb's lips quickly met, and just as quickly parted. They stared once more, getting lost in each other's eyes. However, this only lasted a few moments as Caleb quickly pulled Ari in for a longer lasting kiss, and he soon found himself being pushed back onto the bed after being relieved of his shirt.

...

October 17th, 2011

10:24 AM

…

"You want an omelette?" Caleb called from the kitchen.

"Got waffles?"

"I literally only have eggs, cheese, and milk here."

"Omelette then."

"Got it."

Arianna sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Caleb had offered to make her breakfast in bed, and she liked free breakfast. Her attention turned towards the floor, where clothing belonging to both Caleb and Ari alike were scattered throughout. The only thing covering her was the warm hotel room blanket. She looked around the plain looking room, and noticed her shirt hanging from the back of a chair. The image of Caleb tossing it aside came back to her, and she grinned to herself. She quickly got up, chills running through her bare body immediately, and put on the white and gray t-shirt. One leap back into bed later, she was finally warm again.

 _Crck!_

"God dammit!" Caleb's voice shouted from the kitchen.

"Break an egg?" Ari called back teasingly.

"Not even the kings horsemen can put this one back together."

"But they couldn't put him back together again, I thought that was the point of the rhyme?"

"Been a while since I've read it." Caleb walked into the bedroom, wearing a different pair of clothes than yesterday. At least he had new clothes to change in. "By the way, I broke the last egg. You wanna go to the diner next door and grab some food with me?" He asked as he approached Ari, making an effort to ruffle her already tangled and knotted hair.

"That requires me to get up right? No thanks, I like this bed." Ari pulled the blanket closer to her, drawing it over her nose. Caleb grinned. "Alright sure, I guess you won't come then…" He began walking away, but quickly spun on his heel, and grabbed the edge of the covers. "But I'm taking this with me!" In a swift motion, he yanked the covers completely off, causing Arianna to scream.

"Agh! Caleb what the fuck!? It's cold as hell in this room!" She quickly pulled her knees to her chest and covered them using her shirt, making sure to shoot her boyfriend a dirty glare as she did this.

"If you want this back, you come with me to the diner!" He held the blanket behind him, flashing an impish smile.

"My feelings for you alternate between love and hate, you know that?" Arianna reluctantly got up from the comfortable bed, and stepped into the bathroom. The sound of running water was soon heard, and Caleb was left standing in the hallway, holding a blanket in both of his hands.

"You're joining me!" Ari called from the shower.

"I already took a shower before you even woke up."

"I didn't say you had a choice!"

Caleb silently laughed, and threw the blanket back onto the bed.

…

4:20 PM

…

"Heh. Hey Caleb, look at the time."

"It stops being funny if you mention it everyday for three years."

The rest of that day consisted of the couple going around Goldenrod City, acting like tourists. They went to various shops and malls, with Caleb spoiling Arianna like the princess she was, visited a fancy restaurant where they stuffed themselves with enough food to feed all of Johto, and took a cab up to National Park, where they hung out for the remainder of the day.

"That cloud looks like a car." Caleb pointed at the sky as the two lay on the ground. Ari looked at him with a slight grin on her face.

"Are we really gonna be like every single cliché movie couple and talk about the shapes of clouds?"

"I'm trying to be cute here! Give me credit for at least trying!" He exclaimed. Ari laughed a bit before deciding to join him. "Alright, I'll play along with your romantic fantasy here. Uh…" She stared up at the sky, trying to form objects using the shape of the clouds. "That one looks like… Cotton candy. And the one right next to it is… The head of a Bouffalant."

"Oh look!" Caleb pointed to an empty space in the sky where no clouds were visible. "That one looks like your lack of imagination!" Arianna quickly punched him in the arm before they both laughed. "Ow, hey! That hurt!" He said in a sarcastic tone, and rubbed at his arm.

"Oh come on, I barely even touched you!" She laughed. The two sat up, and stared out over the park. In the distance they could see the center of the park where some kids were battling with their pokémon. Caleb scooted closer to Arianna and held her hand, causing her to blush a little.

"Let me ask you… Do you actually want to become a pokémon trainer?" He asked in a bit of a quiet voice. Ari looked at him where they both stared at each other. The question made her think, which isn't something she would normally do on her own accord. If she was going to be honest with her boyfriend, her immediate answer would be a flat 'no', but she knew that answer would definitely upset him, since he's always pestered her about becoming a trainer with him. However, there was also the fact her only pokémon was most likely the offspring of Satan and Hades after a night of drinking, and she didn't want to deal with that little shit again. Ari had already been thinking of all this for a few seconds, and Caleb started to look at her a bit funny due to her silence. _"Can't reload a save for this dialogue option…"_ She thought.

"Yes, yes I want to become a trainer." She put on a smile as she said this, and it seemed to convince Caleb.

"That's great! I don't want to force you into doing something you don't want to do… I just think it'll be nice, y'know? We can adventure together once I come back from the gym tour!" Simply talking about it put Caleb in a happier mood, and as long as Caleb was happy, Arianna was happy.

"That does sound nice… We can spend more time together since I'll be on a training journey with you!" The thoughts seemed nicer the more she thought about it, so training couldn't be all that bad, right?

"There's just one thing…" Caleb's tone shifted from happy to a bit more concerned. "That Mareep I gave you. You said something about it not liking you?"

Arianna stuck a hand into her purse and felt the great ball still in there. It treated her like shit, but it's also the pokémon Caleb had chosen for her. Refusing it would probably seem ungrateful. "In all honesty, I probably just did something to startle it. I think it'll be a great starter for me though, electric types are badass!"

Caleb didn't seem all to convinced at first, but let out a small chuckle. "You know, I was a bit skeptical at first when I bought you the Mareep, but it's comforting to know you like it enough to want to keep it." The sun began to set, painting the sky a warm orange color. "Do you want to head back to the hotel now? It'll be dinner time by the time we get back."

"Ha! Are you kidding me? I'm still so full from the restaurant we ate at! I don't think I'll eat for another week!"

"Even if I bought you some ice cream on the way back?" He arched an eyebrow as he asked this. She thought for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, I'll take up your offer on that. You think they have red velvet Oreo?"

...

October 21st, 2011

7:47 AM

...

Arianna walked through the automatic glass doors once more as she left the airport. Caleb's flight was scheduled to leave at eight-thirty, so for the first time in quite a while, Arianna had to get up at five o' clock in the morning to help Caleb get to the airport in Olivine City. She felt like she was going to pass out, as she was running on only an hour of sleep, and so was Caleb. They had both stayed up all night having fun in bed until three o' clock in the morning. Was it a good idea? Probably not. Was it some of the best sex she's ever had? By a fucking mile.

As Ari stepped outside, she let out a shaky breath. It was hard knowing Caleb would be gone for a few months, and that fact was now just settling in. They could call each other, but it wasn't the same as physically talking. It wouldn't be all too different than when Caleb went away on training, but at least she could see him on weekends. A few tears began to slowly roll out of her eyes, but she quickly swiped them away as to not draw any attention to herself. She was about to make her way to the taxis before being stopped by someone.

"Arianna?" She felt a hand on her shoulder, and when turned around, she was greeted by a warm face.

"Oh, hey Jasmine. What are you doing here?" Arianna didn't seem all to fazed at the gym leader seemingly appear out of nowhere.

"I just came back from my trip to Sunnyshore City," she said in a calm voice. "Shall we walk together?" Ari nodded, seeing no harm in it, as Jasmine was friendly with her. Actually, there probably wasn't a human alive Jasmine wasn't friendly with. She was probably one of the purer people in the world because of it. Ari helped her with her bags, and they made their way down to the taxis.

"So now it's your turn. What are you doing here so early?" Jasmine asked as they walked.

"I came here to say goodbye to Caleb. He's leaving on some kind of gym tour with Whitney and some other trainers for a few months." Arianna tried to mask her sadness, but unfortunately let a little too much of it show, as Jasmine took immediate notice.

"It must be hard having to depart from someone you love for any long period of time." There were a few moments of silence before she spoke up again. "Are you busy today? Perhaps you'd like to come over for breakfast? I'd be happy to cook." The way she spoke was soft and clearly caring. With such an innocent demeanor, there was no way Arianna could refuse without seeming like an asshole, so she accepted her offer.

...

8:33 AM

...

"His flight should have left by now…" Arianna was staring at the clock, watching the second hand tick away.

"Don't dwell upon it, you'll only make yourself feel sorry! Try thinking of happier things!" Jasmine called out from the kitchen. The smell of eggs was beginning to become apparent in the large, spacious house. Being a gym leader did have its perks.

"How was your trip to Sunnyshore?" She changed the subject trying to get her mind off of Caleb.

"It was really nice. Great weather, the beach was fabulous, the local gym leader was cute. It seems to be summer all year over there! Hey, do you mind helping me with the pancakes?"

Ari got up from the chair she was sitting on, and walked over to the kitchen where Jasmine handed her a bowl of pancake batter. "Just continue mixing that for a little bit, then pour it into that pan over there," Jasmine instructed, and she followed her orders. After some mixing, she walked over to the pan with Jasmine right next to it.

"Cute gym leader huh? What's his name?" Ari asked as she poured pancake batter into the sizzling pan.

"His name is Volkner. Nice guy, runs an electric type gym. He invited me to the beach a couple times, and he's really good with machines." Jasmine began whisking a second set of eggs as she spoke, being extra careful not to spill any.

"You better hope he's good with more than just machines, eh?" Ari playfully nudged Jasmine on the arm with her elbow, flashing her a grin. Jasmine rolled her eyes in good nature. "You know I'm not that interested in that kind of stuff!" She scoffed, but a slight smile did form on the side of her lip. This only prompted Ari to tease her further.

"I bet he was pretty hot without his shirt on at the beach, right? Eh, eh?" She continued to nudge Jasmine with her elbow, causing her to start laughing.

"I admit, it was a great sight, but his friend Flint whom he also invited was in better shape than he was."

"Woah! There's another guy too? Don't bite off more than you can chew!" Ari laughed. "Jasmine, I never would have expected you to be into that kind of double team-"

"I'm not! And his red afro was very off-putting, so I'm not even that interested in him!" Jasmine's face was flushed red, but had a huge smile on it. At this point both ladies were laughing so hard they had to put down anything they were holding to keep from dropping it to the floor. Arianna pretended to wipe a tear from her eye (which could have very well been real) and recovered from her laughing fit.

"You should invite this Volkner guy to Olivine one day. Go on a nice date, visit the lighthouse, get to see his lighthouse-"

"Stop, please! You're killing me here!" Jasmine was literally on the floor laughing, and Ari helped her up. After catching her breath, her attention turned back to the meal.

"Aha-Okay. Let's continue making breakfast, aha." Jasmine giggled. Unfortunately, the smell of something burning quickly caught her attention, and her head turned to the pan, where burnt pancakes now lay.

"Aw man! They were chocolate chip too!" Arianna whined, also taking note of the burnt pancakes.

"That's okay, I'll clean that pan up, and we'll make another batch, okay?" Jasmine offered a smile, and Ari couldn't help but smile back.

…

10:07 AM

…

"I do remember Whitney talking about going back on a journey, although I don't recall anything about a gym tour." Jasmine and Arianna were walking near the outskirts of the city, deciding to hang out that day. "Going to various regions however… That just seems really excessive… I would have just held a tournament or something."

"That's exactly what I said!" Arianna exclaimed as she threw out her hands.

"I mean, she is rich after all. Richer than normal gym leaders I mean. Her family spoils her too much in my opinion..." Jasmine mumbled in a rather annoyed tone. It was odd hearing Jasmine speak like that, as she was the type of person to never talk bad about anybody. It was almost comforting for Arianna to hear this however.

"I heard she always forgets to give out gym badges to trainers because she's too busy crying about her loss," Ari added.

"I've heard this as well, and I'm fairly certain it's true. But then again, she doesn't lose often. She may be young, but she's definitely capable in battle… Probably one of Johto's strongest gym leaders in fact. That Miltank of hers is something else..."

"Ha, yeah! Caleb once told me it went out of control during a Rollout attack, and smashed right through the wall of the gym, a building behind the gym, a tool shed, and still managed to walk away unfazed!"

"That may be over exaggerating just a bit, I heard it was just a wall." The two continued to walk the outskirts of Olivine, talking about various other things. Soon, they got onto the subject of training, and how Arianna had recently received a pokémon, and applied for a trainers license.

"What kind of starter did you receive?" Jasmine asked. They both approached a bench on the side of the pathway, and decided to sit down.

"It's a Mareep. I got it like four days ago from Caleb right before he left to Goldenrod." Ari recalled the events, remembering exactly how the situation went down.

"That was awfully sweet of him. Have you done any actual training with your Mareep yet?"

Arianna was silent. She just realized the fact she hadn't actually let the Mareep out of its pokéball for four days. Did they need to eat regardless of being inside a pokéball or not?

"Hey, uh… Is it safe to keep a pokémon in their pokéball for days?" Ari sheepishly asked. Jasmine smiled and gave a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, from what I know about pokéballs, the pokémon are transformed into light energy when they enter the ball, and an ideal habitat is created for them inside. So I'm sure your Mareep is perfectly fine, if that's what you were wondering!" Arianna let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I was worried I was about to become the worst trainer in the world."

"Hey! Why don't you let it out now? Most pokémon prefer being outside."

Ari hesitated to respond to that. She didn't actually tell Jasmine how much of a little shit it had been to her, but another thought came through her mind. Jasmine was a _gym leader_ , so she was bound to be good with pokémon right? Maybe give the Mareep a bit of an obedience lesson.

"You know what, I was just thinking the same thing!" A blatant lie. She fished into her purse and retrieved the great ball. Luckily it was a different color to all the other pokéballs Silver had given her, or else she would constantly be throwing empty pokéballs in hopes it was her Mareep. She tossed the great ball into the air, making sure to shield her eyes from the blinding flash this time.

" _Mr-eeep!"_

"Aw, its so cute!" Jasmine cooed, and went in to try and pet it.

"Uh, Jasmine! I wouldn't-"

" _Reep!"_ A small electric bolt shocked Jasmine's hand, causing her to immediately flinch back.

"Ow!" She rubbed at her hand and looked back at the Mareep. "Not the one for petting huh?"

The Mareep blankly stared back at Jasmine before turning around to walk away, where it then caught sight of Arianna. _"Mar-ee!"_

"Hey Mary… You, uh… Remember me right?" Ari slowly walked up to the Mareep, being as cautious as possible. The Mareep seemed to be in a stance so it was ready to bolt at any second. As Ari stepped slowly closer, a twig snapped underneath her shoe, causing Mary to flinch and start firing electrical shocks everywhere.

" _Reeeeeep!"_

Both Arianna and Jasmine ducked out of the way, taking refuge behind the bench they were just sitting on.

"This is unusual! Mareep are supposed to be very friendly!" Jasmine shrieked as she covered her head from incoming sparks.

"That's what I thought too!" Arianna held the great ball in her hand, and begun crawling around the bench to try and get a good visual on Mary, who was stilling firing electricity everywhere. Barely managing to avoid the sparks, Ari held the great ball in front of her and returned Mary to its pokéball. A sigh of relief came from both Jasmine and Arianna.

"That… Was very odd behavior for a Mareep. They're usually very friendly by nature…" Jasmine said in a soft voice. "Perhaps… Perhaps it would be best if you started with a different starter pokémon? One more suited for newer trainers?"

Arianna thought about what Jasmine had just said. Yes, she would essentially be switching out the pokémon Caleb had given her for another, but unless she did that, Arianna wouldn't be able to get started in training. After thinking it over, she looked down at the great ball, then back at Jasmine. "Okay, yeah. I'll do it."

…

10:51 AM

…

Jasmine and Arianna were now standing in a large field, where multiple species of pokémon roamed.

"This seems like a good spot to go and pick a new starter pokémon!" Jasmine said cheerily. Being surrounded by pokémon seemed to bring out a happier mood in her.

"Wait, don't I need to use a pokémon to catch another pokémon? Like, we need to battle or something?"

That thought also just seemed to dawn on Jasmine, who just offered a nervous smile. "Maybe you'll have to battle the pokémon for yourself?" She shrugged.

"Can't I borrow one of your pokémon? You always carry one right?"

"The only pokémon I have on me right now is my Steelix, and I'm afraid it could easily crush all of these pokémon at once if it really wanted to." She shrugged once more with a sheepish smile on her face.

"I'll just throw pokéballs, hope for the best I suppose." Arianna pulled out a pokéball from her purse, and locked onto a pokémon she could possibly catch. Just ahead she spotted it. It was small, round, blue, and had a zigzagging tail with a blue sphere at the tip. A Marill.

"Alright… Go pokéball! That's what trainers say, right?" She tossed the red and white sphere towards the Marill, and which definitely caught it by surprise. With a brief flash of red, the Marill receded into the pokéball.

"I did it!" Arianna cheered. She held a hand out to Jasmine for her to high five, but she simply pointed behind Ari. "Look behind you."

"Wha..?" Ari spun on her heel just in time to see the Marill break free from the pokéball, looking slightly more angry than it had before.

" _Rill! Ma-rill!"_ A barrage of projectile bubbles fired from the Marill's mouth, straight towards Arianna.

"Agh!" She shrieked as she ducked away from the bubbles. "Shit that was fast!" Ari dug out another pokéball, and threw it towards the Marill once more. After being hit on the head with the ball, it receded into the pokéball again with another flash of red, and this time the ball seemed to shake once before the Marill burst out.

"You need to weaken it!" Jasmine called out from the sidelines. Arianna turned to her, and threw out her hands. "How the hell am I supposed to do that!? I'm not a pokémon!" Just then, the Marill ran in front of Arianna, jumping up to meet her face, and slapped her across it with its tail. _"Marill!"_

"Gah! Why you little…" Arianna rubbed at red mark which was now on her cheek, and quickly stormed towards the buoyant little rodent. "You want to make it like that huh!?" She ran up to the little mouse, and kicked it across the field like it was a football, and Ari swore she heard it squeak like a chew toy.

" _Riiiiiilllll!"_ It shrieked as it flew, right before it landed on the ground. It barely had enough time to react before another pokéball was thrown at its face, and for the third time receded into the pokéball. This time the ball shook twice before the Marill bursted out.

" _Ma-Marill!"_ Another barrage of bubbles shot from its mouth, however Arianna wasn't able to dodge the onslaught.

"Ah, fuck-shit-fuck-fuck! Why do bubbles hurt so-ah shit!" The spots where she was hit would most likely start to bruise, and they hurt like a bitch. The now soaking and hurt Arianna had the look of wrath, vengeance, and the rage of hell in her eyes.

"Come here you fucking buoy!" She lunged towards the Marill, and before it could jump out of the way, Ari yanked it back by the tail. She held the Marill upside-down in front of her, before spinning it multiple times.

" _Rill-rill-rill!"_

After gaining a good speed, she let go of the Marill which went flying once more, and flew right into a tree, and was knocked unconscious. _"Ma…"_

"Oh my…" Jasmine cupped a hand over her mouth after watching the events unfold.

"Haha… You're mine now you bitch!" Arianna pulled out her fourth pokéball, and threw it identically to how she had three times before. However, just before the pokéball could hit the Marill...

" _Azum!"_ A large jet of water came out of nowhere, deflecting the pokéball in a different direction, causing it to ricochet off a rock, and hit an entirely different pokémon, which Ari didn't get to see. Whatever pokémon it hit was the least of Arianna's problems however. Before her now stood a very large Azumarill. Presumably the mother of the Marill she had attacked.

" _Azu! Azumarill!"_ The slightly more oval shaped buoyant rodent barked at Ari.

"Uh…" Arianna was actually scared, as she knew Azumarill were very powerful pokémon. Just before it could unleash an attack however, a large shadow quickly overtook the two of them, and the pokémon was paralyzed in fear. Arianna turned around to see the giant serpent made of metal which belonged to Jasmine.

" _ **STEEEEELAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHXXX!"**_

An ear splitting screech came from the Steelix, causing Arianna to fall to her knees while covering her ears. Any and all pokémon in the area quickly scurried away, and the Azumarill picked up the unconscious Marill and ran away. After it was finally over, a red light overcame the Steelix as it was returned into its pokéball. Jasmine who was standing behind the Steelix quickly ran up to Arianna, who was still trying to recover from the noise.

"Arianna! Are you okay? I'm so sorry I had to do that!" She helped her up off the ground, and made sure there were no visible injuries on her. Ari got up, one hand still cupped over her left ear.

"The ringing will go away, right?" She asked, a bit louder than normal.

"Yes it will, but I'm more concerned over your well being right now. Come on, I'll take you to a hospital to get checked up, okay?" Jasmine offered, and placed a hand on Ari's back.

"Wait, hold on a second. That pokéball over there…" Arianna weakly pointed to the pokéball laying on the grass, and Jasmine quickly retrieved it for her. "Hey, looks like you caught something else! What do you think is inside?"

"It better be a good pokémon, like an Azumarill or something. Or maybe a Scyther!" Arianna began to get excited, but a slight pain from where she was hit caught up to her. "Ow… Here, gimme the pokéball." She outstretched her arm, and Jasmine gently placed the ball in her hand. Arianna pathetically tossed it into the air, but it was enough to trigger the pokémon to come out. After the flash faded, Arianna got a better look at her new pokémon. It was blue, it had a wooly coat…

"Oh you've got to be _FUCKING_ kidding me!"

" _Mr-eep!"_

…

 **Next Chapter:** Arianna's luck is about as nonexistent as her imagination is when it comes to making shapes out of clouds it seems. But perhaps this particular Mareep is just what Arianna needs to get her start in the training world. Or maybe it'll end up being another hellion for Ari to deal with. Who knows. I'm sure Jasmine would enjoy watching these events unfold.

…


End file.
